Chateau Canon 1989

WINEADVOCATE: "Tasted at the Château Canon vertical, the 1989 Canon is a delightful Saint Emilion and this is the best bottle that I have encountered. It has a classic Saint Emilion bouquet with vestiges of red berry fruit mixed with soy, leather and a touch of ox-tail. It is fully mature but in many ways, more vigorous now than the 1982 Canon. The palate is very well balanced with fine tannin and a superb seam of acidity. Very harmonious in the mouth, it is clearly at its peak now after 26 years, quite savory with a pinch of cracked black pepper enlivening the almost Rhône-like finish. What a beautiful 1989 Saint Emilion, but as Robert Parker originally mentioned, it was probably the final great wine before matters went awry in the 1990s due to lack of investment and an infection in the winery. Tasted October 2015."

ANTONIO GALLONI: "The 1989 Canon is definitely one of the better wines from an inconsistent period for this Saint-Émilion stalwart. The bouquet retains vigor after 30 years, offering mainly red fruit intermingled with leather and an oxtail scent that I have observed in previous bottles. The harmonious palate is well balanced with finer tannin than similarly aged vintages, and slightly animally and Rhône-like on the savory finish, which is liberally sprinkled with black pepper. Preferable to the 1990 Canon. Bottles should be drunk now and in the near future, before the inevitable decline. Tasted at the 1989 Bordeaux dinner at Hatched in London."

WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Close to fully mature, the floral, tobacco, peppery boysenberry, smoke and earthy nose is a turn on. Medium/full bodied, with a bit of a green bite in the finish that also provides minty, black cherry notes, the wine is soft, with a hint of old-school rusticity on the palate. The wine is more savory than sweet, which makes sense with its slightly strict palate presence. Decanted about 1 hour in advance of tasting, this is probably not a long-term hold. This is a wine to like, but not to love. If you are holding on to any bottles, it is time to pop a cork."

ROBINSON: "Looks quite evolved at the rim but tastes as though it will go quite a bit further. Definitely dry and traditional rather than luscious and modern. Medium body. Not as obviously ripe as most 1989s."

WINESPECTATOR: "Starts up slowly on the palate, then builds to lovely, sweet fruit flavors. Dark-ruby color. Dusty, smoky, gamy and berry aromas open to a full-bodied palate with loads of ripe fruit and chocolate and a long, sweet aftertaste. A beauty.--1989 Bordeaux horizontal. Drink now through 2006."